Artist Prudence Staite who has made a nativity scene made out of cheese. It is exactly one month until Christmas and no festive period is complete without great cheese and a nativity scene ñ so why not combine the two? A Cheddar cheese company has done just that - hired a sculptor who used around 40KG of mature cheddar to carefully fashion a highly detailed scene, complete with all the essentials of a Christmas nativity. At first glance it may look like a typical nativity setting, but there is one key difference with this seasonal scene ñ it has been painstakingly crafted by hand entirely from cheese. There is, of course, a cheese Joseph and cheese Mary huddled around a cheese crib with a cheese shepherd and even cheese wise men carrying gifts of Branston pickle, as well as cheese sheep, a cheese cow and, of course, a cheese donkey in tow. But at the centre of the meticulously sculpted model, which also has its own detailed stable housing the characters, is the young infant whose story is so famed ñ Baby Jesus. Commissioned by Pilgrims Choice cheddar cheese, the nativity scene was hand-carved by renowned food artist Prudence Staite in her special workshop based in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. See swns story SWCHEESE.

Edam of God!

Everyone knows that Christmas is a unique occasion in the culinary calendar. Turkey, stuffing and sprouts briefly come out of hibernation and land on our dinner tables, and the festive season is so special that it even has its own holiday cake!

But a food artist in England has defied that trend to put an unconventional twist on an otherwise familiar food.

In an alternative type of cheesy Christmas hit, Prudence Staite from Gloucestershire, U.K. has crafted a Biblical Nativity scene using 40 kilograms of cheddar.

Staite has constructed the traditional Mary and Joseph with newly ripened Cheesus, whose tiny crib is so intricate it even features shaved cheese straw.

The scene is complete with donkeys, sheep, a cow and brie Wise Men – who carry Branston Pickle gifts for the baby Cheesus, all of which were made in Staite’s workshop in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

“It was about five days of sculpting”, Staite said of the son of Gouda. “[It was one of those jobs I took on without really knowing what I was doing.”

Staite has also created a 9ft edible gingerbread house in Soilhull, which includes a mound of gingerbread bricks, candy canes and a huge amount of icing.

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